


Her Arrival

by Kazuo93



Series: The Adventures of Sapphire Umbrus [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-09
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 06:26:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26348572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kazuo93/pseuds/Kazuo93
Summary: With a new name and a clean slate, Sapphire Umbrus arrives on the docks of the marine city, Limsa Lominsa. Starting her new life as an adventurer is tough in a city of pirates and plunderers, but she might just get some unexpected help from the shadows.NOTE: My Thieves' Cant is very rough so I apologize for any mistranslations or badly written sentences.
Series: The Adventures of Sapphire Umbrus [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1898692
Kudos: 1





	Her Arrival

**[0005 7th Umbral Era, ????]**

_"Sister....sister....."_

"Brother?" she calls. She looks around and finds herself wandering in an endless void of pitch black, her voice tumbling endlessly into the dark abyss around her. "Where are you? Answer me!"

_"Sister....."_

There! She heard it again, but now she knows where it's coming from. Her feet rush through the void as quickly as it can carry her, her breaths becoming more and more rapid with each breath. "I'm coming brother! I'm here!"

A light shines ahead, and the voice continues calling out to her. _"Sister...."_ it calls again. She runs further and further, her lungs feeling like they're on the verge of exploding, until her feet finally cross the threshold of light. As her feet touch solid ground, she slumps over in exhaustion, trying to catch her breath.

"Where are you?" she spits out between breaths. No answer. "This isn't funny, Sora--"

As she raises her head, expecting to see the green hills of Yanxia, she is greeted by the sight of her home in pieces. The doors have been blasted in, tiny cinders still dance on the edges of what remains of the rooftop, and the interior is in shambles. Panicked, she clumsily enters, taking in the full sight of things. Furniture has been tossed around, plates and other ceramics smashed on the ground, signs of struggle. But no signs of family.

"Mother? Father? Sora?! Can you hear me?!" she yells inside, but no response. She begins frantically pushing furniture and debris aside, praying in her heart to not find anything. But as she shoves aside the dining table, she is met with the sight of a blood trail. Smeared blood. But no body. A small sigh of relief leaves her lips as she follows what remains of the smeared blood trail. "Please be okay."

She paces through her home, following the blood stains on the floors and walls, her feet and her heart getting heavier with each step. Her sandals create cracks as she steps on bits of broken glass and debris down the hallway, each crack resounding in her head like a hollowed hall. Until finally she reaches the door to her parents' bedroom at the end of the hallway. While her home was by no means larger than any other home in Yanxia, it felt as if she had been crossing the hallway for eons. Her hand shakily reaches forward, her palms coated in a thin layer of sweat and dirt as she pushes against the door.

The door slowly creaks open, the flicker of a dim candlelight filling the hallway. Her eyes adjust to the new light, following the trail on the floor forward. Her gaze pans up, until she is finally met with a grim sight. Her mother and father, laying across the floor, inches away from the other, still and lifeless. Kneeling before them, sobbing heavily, is a young Raen boy with blue hair.

_"Why?"_

The weight in her legs disappear, and the weight in her chest overwhelms her. She crumbles to the ground, tears slowly crawling down her face. The sobbing stops. The young Raen boy slowly turns around.

_" **WhY DiD yOu LeAvE uS tO dIe?"**_

.

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

_THUD!_

She opens her eyes and sees a cold wooden floor, the pain in her heart replaced by the swelling from the bruise on her forehead. Sapphire rolls over onto her side and looks up, met with the sight of her hammock twisted. She slowly pushes herself off of the floor, trying to shake off the grogginess and the mild concussion from her fall.

"What the....where am I?" she mutters, stumbling over to the nearest wall. She shakes off the last of her sleep and steps up onto the deck, shielding her eyes from the blinding light of the sun at sea.

"Oh, about time you woke up. I began to worry that we would be disembarking without you," greets a familiar voice. She turns and is met with the gaze of the male Hyur she had met when she first boarded the ship.

"Oh, Shojiro," she says, rubbing her eyes. "Where are we?"

"Now, now, I thought we agreed to address each other by our adventurer's names from now on, _Sapphire Umbrus_?" he retorts, raising an eyebrow with a small playful smirk.

"Oh, right...sorry, Elwyn," she responds, joining his side.

"Much better. Anyway, they call it the.... _Rho-ta No_ Sea, I think it was. They say pirates used to roam about freely 'round these parts AND in the city we'll be arriving at: Limsa Lominsa. Thankfully, piracy's been outlawed in recent years, or at least so I've heard from the crew. I say, the image is very similar to the Confederacy back home."

"Home..." Sapphire echoes, her nightmare flashing in her mind once more. "Sho--I mean--Elwyn, do you...regret...leaving home?"

"I wouldn't exactly call it regret...though I do miss my family, if that's what you're feeling," Elwyn replies. "Alas, we made the choice to board the ship in hopes of one day returning and freeing our home from Garlean occupation. Much as we miss our friends and family back home, there is naught we can do but to carry on with hopes of coming home stronger than when we left."

Sapphire looks out into the blue and sighs. He was right. She had to move on. She had to prove to Sora that she could make the vision of a Garlean-free Othard a reality, and for now that meant being as far away from her family and past life as possible. Until she returned home, Umi Kuroi was no more. Only Sapphire Umbrus existed.

"We made it, Captain!" yelled the navigator from the crow's nest. As the ship made its way around the cliffside, there it was: the marine city-state of Limsa Lominsa. Sapphire's eyes widened at the sheer size of the city as they approached, taking in the sights of the various layers the city held, and from what she could gleam, the various people that inhabited it.

"Well...we're here. This is where our life begins anew," Elwyn said, a sad smile forming on his face. "Best we grab our belongings and get ready to go ashore. Wouldn't want to trouble the crew any longer than we already have."

Sapphire nods and hops back into the cabin, quickly sorting her belongings and changing into her garments and slipping on her leather sandals. She may stand out in her attire, but she found the attire to be both stylish and easy to move in.

The small fishing ship finally docks in one of the open ports, lowering the plank for its passengers to disembark.

"Thank you so much for the help," Elwyn says, Sapphire and the other refugees joining him in a bow of gratitude. "We appreciate you getting us thus far." The captain waves them off and they make their way along the wooden deck towards the city. "So, shall we make our way to the guild to get an idea of where to begin?" Elwyn asks. Before Sapphire could answer however, she feels a sharp jerk as a figure--a Roegadyn--rushes past her and snatches her knapsack.

"HEY!" she cries out.

"Cloyed me another sucker on the decks!" cries the snatcher in his elation. Sapphire's brows furrow as she begins a pace.

"Wait, what about the guild?" Elwyn asks, reaching a hand out.

"Go on without me!!" she yells back, bursting into a sprint that would make a Yanxian Tiger blush. She chases the thief past the docks, not closing the gap in the slightest. She glances to her left and sees a fish stand, with a conveniently placed knife sticking out of the woodwork. With a quick flourish, she slides past the knife, yanking it from its place and flinging it at the burglar with all her might, missing his feet by a few ilms.

"Gonna have to try harder than that, missy!" he teases, turning around and sticking out his tongue.

Sapphire clicks her tongue in frustration but then notices another blur in the distance, this time hopping from ship to ship. She maintains a pace after the thief but notices the silhouette is proceeding in the same direction. The figure then jumps and swings on a bowsprit, launching forward and landing on a small ship next to her. Their gazes briefly meet before it rushes past her with a small burst of wind. It leaps, pulling out two daggers--one in each hand--and tackles the thief knees first. When the dust settles, the figure--which she now sees is a Miqo'te with red hair and fur--sits on the Roegadyn with one dagger to his throat, and the other dagger pinning the knapsack to the wooden deck.

"Another bollock-for-brain cove who be breakin' the code on these docks. Ye've cloyed something that don't belong to ye, and from a colt lass, no less" she says, leaning in and pressing the knife to the Roegadyn's staunchy neck. "And yer prattle earlier tells me this ain't ye first time, innit? But I'm a forgiving dove today so I'll give ye two ways: have a whid with me stabbers, or ye leave this city with yer life and never return. So wha's it gon' be, ya daft cove?"

A few minutes of panic later and the Roe sprints off with his life and with tears in his eyes. The dagger-wielding Miqo'te sighs and sheathes her blades. She then picks up the knapsack before tossing it at Sapphire's feet. "For a colt lass, ye got some bene moves," she remarks.

"Um...thanks...I think?" Sapphire replies, raising an eyebrow at the weird language.

"Don't worry ye nob, lass, is just me prattling. Wha's yer name?"

"Er, Sapphire. Sapphire Umbrus."

Sapphire, eh? I saw what happened and thought I'd lend me dabbles after seeing the way ye chased that cove. Yer exactly the kind of dove cutters like me be looking for."

"Pardon? What do you mean by 'looking for'?" Sapphire asks, glancing up from checking her belongings.

"She means ye got what it takes, lass," comes a deep voice from their side. Sapphire turns and is faced with another Roegadyn, this time one wearing a blue shirt and an eyepatch over his left eye. "Couldn't help but spot some of the action meself, and she's right. Ye've got the passion and feet we need, lass."

"Coulda used yer fat quarron back there, Lonwoerd. Would've been bene for once!" the red-haired Miqo'te retorts, chuckling a bit.

"Aye, but ye know I'm no good in a dance like ye. I'm just a doorman, is all," he says, turning his attention back to Sapphire. "Sorry yer first day here had to be this way, lass. Yer belongings in one piece?"

"Y-yes. All's well," Sapphire replies.

"Bene! That means I can get to business," the Miqo'te says, approaching Sapphire. "Say, lass, ye be a bit rough on the edges but I bet we train ye how to use a pair of stabbers and ye'll make a fine rogue," she says, showing off one of the knives at her hip. "And from the look o' things, you might need it, seeing as ye ain't got anything else on ye to fend off the ruffmans."

"Um..." Sapphire replies with a confused expression, glancing at Lonwoerd.

"She be asking ye if ye want to learn how to use daggers like she does, lass. And to use it to keep the peace o' this city. I know it sounds suspicious from a couple o' strangers ye met on yer first day, but come inside and we can help ye understand better," he says, gesturing to the large door next to him. "What da ye say, lass?"

And there it was. What she wanted to do as an adventurer: learn a set of skills and to protect others. But she never expected it would be taught to her by a group called " _T_ _he Dutiful Sisters of the Edelweiss_ ", as the sign on top of the door reads. It didn't seem like she had anywhere else to turn so she made a decision.

"Count me in."

"Great!" the Miqo'te cheers, slapping Sapphire on the butt. "Name's V'kebbe, by the way. V'kebbe the Stray. This lug 'ere is Lonwoerd, and welcome to the Dutiful Sisters o' the Edelweiss!"


End file.
